A Glimpse of Heaven
by Kat500
Summary: BuffyLOTR XR set during the war of the ring and after Buffy's "The Gift". What happens when Buffy lands in Middle-Earth after jumping in the portal to save her world? LegolasBuffy pairing. Please R&R.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Buffy Summers lightly brushed her lips against the cold, red cheek of her sister, Dawn, smiling softly as she pulled back to look in her sister's eyes one last time. She could see the fear hidden behind the big brown eyes staring into her. But she wasn't going to allow Dawn to do this. She was responsible for taking care of her; not for the monks or the world. No. For her mother. Her smile grew as the thought of possibly seeing her mother crossed her mind. And with a reassuring look at Dawn; she turned and ran to the end of the platform. The last thing she saw was the bright white light surrounding her.

* * *

The smell was almost too much to bare and the thought of their friends being among all that just made the gut wrenching feeling worse. Gimli, son of Gloin, dug through the stench of bodies; looking for any sign of hope that his little friends were still alive. His breath caught in his throat when his axe scraped across something all too familiar. He slowly lifted it up and turned to his companions while trying to choke back the tears.

"It's one of their wee belts." He spoke gruffly as the chard piece of material rested in his meaty fist. The man with shoulder length scruffy hair turned away from the disaster; a distressed look playing on his face.

"Hiro hyn hîdh ab 'wanath." A prayer was quietly lifted into the air by the smooth voice of the blonde elf standing near the bodies; his head bowed in respect to the hobbits.

The peace was broken when the man quickly turned around screaming as he kicked a helmet; falling to his knees in defeat. As his eyes scanned the ground around him, his hopes were lifted as they landed on some tracks not to far from where he lay. Not paying much attention to the words of his dwarven friend. "We failed them."

He quickly traced the tracks; his hopes becoming higher with each step he took and with each evidence found that they indeed belonged to the hobbits.

"Tracks lead away from the battle into… Fangorn Forest." Aragorn's face once again fell as he stared into the dark woods in front of him, somewhat ignoring the elf and dwarf who ran up beside him; all sharing the same look of fear.

"Fangorn! What madness drove them in there!" Gimli, as most dwarves do, spoke up when everyone else was silent. But he got no answer, just silent stares into the dense forest. Dreading what was to come.

* * *

Buffy slowly opened her eyes to a dark outdoors; confusion plastering her face instantly. She laid there for a few moments, trying to remember where she was or how she ended up there. As she slowly sat up she felt pain shoot through her entire body; causing her to crouch forward in her sitting position. It relieved the pain slightly, but not entirely. She clenched her teeth as she tried to reposition herself more comfortably. She didn't figure standing up would help the pain to subside, seeing as how much pain just sitting caused her.

Her long blonde hair fell in front of her face as she looked down at her hands; which were resting on the damp leaves beneath her. They were filthy from the ground with a few scrapes and dirt accumulated under her nails. She curled her lips in disgust at the sight of them and turned her attention to her surroundings.

Trees loomed over her. Dark and depressing, they were so tall she could hardly see the sky. And there was an eerie silence filling the air. Quiet was nice, but this was too quiet. She crinkled her forehead as she tried to figure out what was going on. And as the memories flooded back into her mind the wider her eyes got; filling fuller and fuller with tears.

* * *

Flashback

"Buffy no!" Dawn yelled to her sister when she realized what she planned to do.

"Dawnie I have to."

"No." Dawn cried. No. Begged her not to.

"Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen." Dawn stood silently waiting for the final words her sister had to say to her. "Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But…this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles…tell Giles I figured it out. And. And I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world… is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."

* * *

Buffy's eyes were closed as she remember the last words she said to her sister. Tears were falling past the closed lids and under her trembling chin; causing the small droplets to fall to her gray pants below. She was so lost in thought she didn't hear the voices off in the distance.

* * *

"Aragorn, nad no ennas!" Legolas ran past Aragorn to get a view on what was approaching the three warriors.

"Man cenich?" Aragorn asked; scanning the same area as the Elf but not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Legolas let a small smile form on his face as he saw what was coming.

"The white wizard approaches." He answered slowly.

Aragorn's eyes turned into slits at Legolas' words before he spoke, "do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us." And at that, the three gripped their weapons, awaiting the battle they believed would follow the encounter with the white wizard.

"We must be quick." Aragorn whispered before the three quickly turned toward their enemy, but were instantly blinded by a bright white light.

* * *

Buffy was pulled from her thoughts when screams were heard close by. Forgetting about the pain and her slayer instincts kicking in; she quickly sprung to her feet and ran in the direction of the screams.

Stopping abruptly when she got a visual of who the screams belonged to; she couldn't see any sign of attack or any sort of violence. So, instead she decided on snooping in on the conversation. Maybe it will help her figure out where she was. Besides, she couldn't just walk up to them and say "umm… excuse me. Could I use your phone?" They'd most likely kill her on sight. They didn't exactly look like the kind of people to even comprehend what a phone was.

She hid behind a tree nearby and listened to what the four men were talking about. Her forehead crinkling in confusion about almost everything they said. And every once in awhile mouthing 'what?'. She heard them speaking of something called the Balrog but had no idea of what it was. She closed her eyes as she listened, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly fatigued. She placed her hand to her head as dizziness began to take over. Without realizing it she slumped forward; holding her head still in her hand. She made a small grunting sound as her small and frail body fell to the ground completely; laying somewhat in a fetal position.

She heard the crunching of leaves beneath feet as someone approached her. She slowly lifted her head to the skies to see the same four men looking down on her. They had a look of worry yet caution on their faces. She pushed herself up slightly, releasing a cry of pain in doing so. The blonde man, well at least she suspected him being so, grab a hold of her left arm gently; helping her stand.

He looked at her face more clearly now and he saw it was caked in sweat and dirt. Her eyes were filled with fear, sadness, and most of all, loss. Her hair was also covered in dirt and leaves. She looked as though she had just traveled a great distance, but yet her clothing was not of his custom, and by the look on Aragorn and Gandalf's face, they weren't accustomed either.

"Who are you?" Aragorn spoke in a stern voice. Not too stern though, for he did not want to frighten the girl any more than she already was.

She quickly turned her attention to him and averted her eyes to the ground. "Buffy. Buffy Summers." She spoke quietly and she could still feel everyone's eyes on her. "I… I'm not sure why I… or how I…" Buffy stammered, trying to explain herself.

"We don't mean to frighten you my lady. You did surprise us as well." Legolas spoke soothingly and Buffy couldn't help but smile at the way he spoke.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just so… confused. I…" She stopped mid-sentence when the dizziness came over her again, causing her to lose her balance.

Expecting to hit the ground; she awaited the pain to shoot up through her spine, but when it never came she slowly opened her eyes only to see a pair of bright blue ones staring back at her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I'll be fine." The stubborn side of Buffy came out; quickly standing back up. She always hated being ill. It always showed signs of weakness. And being the Slayer, you couldn't risk being weak. Weak got you killed.

"You shall travel with us, Lady Buffy." Gandalf nodded slightly to Buffy before turning towards the others, "one stage of your journey is over, another begins. War has come to Rohan. We must ride to Edoras with all speed." The first words Gandalf spoke got Buffy wondering if he was talking to his fellow travelers or her. She had died. Didn't she? So, why was she here? Was the first stage of her journey over and the other was just beginning? It seemed his statement was directed only to her; making her head spin even more.


	2. Along for the Ride

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate it. Without the reviews I wouldn't have the motivation to write this. So, again thank you. :)

Now....drumroll....On with the show!!

**Chapter One**Buffy accompanied the four travelers on their journey. Where to, she couldn't say; she just knew, for some reason, that she could trust these people. They had made it out of the eerie and depressing forest and out into an open field. All but Gandalf stopped in their tracks; as if knowing not to follow the old man. Buffy looked around in confusion. The area she was seeing was nothing like Sunnydale. It was just beautiful. And the sky. The sky was bluer then she had ever seen. Even in California it wasn't that blue. She averted her attention quickly back to Gandalf who started whistling to the world around them. She could tell the sound was drifting by the echoes in the hills ahead. Then, out of nowhere, a white stallion appeared; running in their direction. Buffy was once again in awe.

"That is one of the mearas. Unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas also stared in awe at the creature before them. Buffy couldn't help but smirk at his words.

"Jeez. You're worse than Giles." Everyone but Gandalf turned to look at her in confusion.

"What!? I'm just sayin'." Buffy shrugged her shoulders as she spoke the last word and Legolas smiled at her.

"So, she does speak." His smile grew when she glared at him.

"Watch it, buddy. I'm stronger than I look." Buffy responded just before the stallion galloped up to Gandalf. Buffy watched as the wizard gently coaxed the fur on the horses neck.

"Shadowfax." The horse nodded his head when Gandalf spoke his name; as if he understood the words. "He's the Lord of all horses and has been my friend through many dangers."

They rode quickly through the tan fields; so fast Buffy had to hold on tightly to Legolas' waist. He had insisted she ride with him and Gimli with Aragorn; though she protested repeatedly until Gimli convinced her there was no arguing with the elf.

She never really questioned anyone since she met them until the word 'elf' came out of the dwarf's mouth. As she rode behind Legolas she examined him as best she could from her angle and that was when she noticed the points and the end of his ears; causing her to catch her breath. _Now I've seen everything._ She thought. Legolas must have felt her stiffen because he turned his head so he could see her form.

"Are you alright?" He asked and Buffy could have sworn she heard concern in his voice.

She nodded her head and realized he probably couldn't see her well enough to witness the motion her head made. But before she could speak he turned his attention ahead of him and she thought she heard something along the lines of 'he was glad', but she wasn't positive.

The cool breeze felt good against her skin, but the ride wasn't helping the way she was feeling. Ever since she arrived she didn't feel her best. Her head ached as if someone smacked the middle of her forehead with a hammer as hard as they could, her stomach turned with the slightest movement she made and her body ached from head to toe. She couldn't remember anything making her feel this horrid when she fought the forces of evil; not even when the master bit her did she feel this bad. In fact, she felt better then ever when Xander revived her. So, why was she feeling like this? The portal. It had to have been the portal. She had a feeling that it had very bad side effects, and more were to come. Oh, she was not looking forward to that.

They soon stopped ahead of a large hill with a village built on top of it. Buffy released her breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Probably in an attempt to keep her stomach down. Well, it worked. For now. She stared at the large building that stood at the top of hill. It wasn't extremely extravagant, but it still held beauty that even the finest of castles or churches couldn't measure up to it.

"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Medusel. There dwells Théoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Théoden is now very strong." Gandalf spoke as everyone stared at the village in front of them; as if they were students in class listening intently to the teacher's lecture. "Be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here."

And at his words the three horses were off running once again. Buffy tightly closed her eyes as the feeling in her stomach jumped back to life once again; causing her to tightly squeeze Legolas' waist, trying to cease the pain but failing miserably.

Legolas noticed the change in behavior but said nothing; just looked slightly back at the small blonde behind him with his brow furrowed in confusion and a hint of worry.

Buffy's stomach calmed when the horses pace turned to a steady walk as they passed by through the gates of Edoras. She slowly opened her eyes and saw many of the villagers staring at them, but mainly her. She had never felt so out of place in her life, except for the fact that she was the slayer in her world.

She looked ahead and saw the same large building as before and it looked even more beautiful close up. She saw a woman in a white gown near the stone steps and it appeared she was watching them approach but it was difficult to tell. She watched as the woman ran back into the building; perhaps to heed a warning.

They dismounted the horses and Legolas offered to help Buffy down but she refused the offer. As soon as her feet hit the ground her knees caved in; causing her to lose her balance and nearly fall to the ground. If it weren't for Legolas' hand on her arm she would have. She slowly looked up and saw him staring back down at her. She saw extreme worry and she sent him a strong smile and stood up straight ignoring the plea from her legs to sit and rest.

"I've never ridden a horse before. My legs aren't used to it." She lied as she took her arm politely from his grasp. He slowly lowered his arm to his side while nodding to her in understanding, but had a feeling she wasn't telling him the truth. The whole truth anyway.

Guards walked out of the entrance of the building and Buffy could tell they weren't the welcoming committee. They reached the top of the steps to stand in front of the guards.

"I cannot allow you before Theoden King so armed, Gandalf Grayhame.-- By order of Grima Wormtongue."

Gandalf nodded to his companions as he looked at them and without hesitation they handed over their weapons. Buffy was a bit impressed by Legolas' maneuver at unsheathing his swords; spinning them in sync before handing them to the guards.

"You too, miss." The main guard ordered her and she quickly looked up at him with surprise written on her face.

"Oh, uh…only if you want to cut off my arms and legs." Buffy gave the guard her best smile but he held his tight frown. "I have no weapons." She finally answered after getting silence from the man. The guard turned away from her without a second glance to Gandalf. "Tough crowd." She whispered; getting the elf and dwarf's attention and decided it'd be best to just ignore them for the time being.

"Your staff." The guard demanded from Gandalf.

"Oh. No, you wouldn't part an old man from his walking stick?" Gandalf asked with his best smile. The guard looked at him disapprovingly, but allowed him to pass with his staff. Buffy had to stifle a laugh as Gandalf hook arms with Legolas for 'support'.

"My Lord. Gandalf the Grey is coming." The disgusting man sitting along side a very frail and old man spoke into his ear and right away Buffy was suspicious of him. She felt something from him. Evil. That's exactly what it was she felt. Ah, there were times were being a slayer wasn't always bad. She walked a few paces behind everyone else; frightened to get in the way of whatever it was they planned to do.

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Théoden King." Gandalf's voice echoed throughout the hall as he slowly walked towards the King and his throne.

"He is not welcome here." The gastly man whispered once again to him. But it seemed to her that he wasn't speaking to the man beside him, more to someone else who remained to be seen.

"Why should I welcome you, Gandalf Stormcrow?" The old man asked, his voice coming out dry and cracked; forcing Buffy to fight back the urge to clear her own throat.

"A just question my liege." Gandalf answered.

The man beside the so-called King stood quickly, anger flowing through his eyes. "_Late_ is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear. Lathspell I name him. Ill news is in ill guest."

"Be silent! Keep your forked tongue behind you teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy gird words with a witless worm!" Gandalf's voiced boomed throughout as he raised his staff, causing Buffy to jump out of her skin. She hadn't really thought about how much power was held just behind the voice of the kind old man before her.

"His staff! I _told_ you to take the wizard's staff!" Grima yelled at the guards in panic and anger when he saw the white staff in the hand of the wizard.

The guards lunged towards Gandalf but their way was blocked by the three warriors. Buffy noticed the punches that were being thrown in and knew this was a time where she wouldn't be in the way.

She jumped in front of a guard who was nearing Gandalf and he gave a slight laugh at her attempt. She laughed back at him before swinging her fist, making contact with his jaw and knocking him out cold. She saw another guard about to run past her and she quickly knelt down; sticking her right leg out she spun and connected it with that of the guards, toppling him to the floor below with a loud smack. She could slightly hear the words of Gandalf as he did his work, but she was too caught up in her work to really know what was going on. The fighting was making her head feel worse than before, her stomach felt as if it were ready to fall out and she knew her aches and pains throughout her body were going to be unbearably painful after this. She jump kicked another guard in the face as he attempted to tackle her to the ground. She looked around her and saw there weren't any other guards near her and decided on helping out the others. She saw Gimli had one foot on Grima's chest with his axe pointing to his face and she smiled at the sight. Just as she neared Legolas, Gandalf's final attempt to free the King sent the evil wizard out of the King's mind. But it also caused Buffy to scream out in pain as she gripped her head in her hands; collapsing to the floor at Legolas' feet in an almost lifeless heap.


	3. Evacuation of Edoras

**A/N:** Again, thanks to everyone for the reviews and I want to apologize if this chapter isn't all that great because I had really bad writer's block when attempting to write it. So, my apologies. But I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter Two**

Buffy slowly opened her eyes, thankful for the lack of light emanating the room around her; she didn't think her head could handle anything much brighter. She slowly sat up on the bed she was occupying but regretted it instantly as searing pain flowed through her head. Placing a hand to her forehead, while releasing a small groan, she gave in to laying back down. As she closed her eyes once more, she heard a soft voice beside her. "Stay still, my lady. You need your rest."

She opened her eyes in time to see the blonde elf sit on a chair placed beside the bed. She watched as he placed a white cloth in a metallic bowl on the nightstand beside her. He drained the excess water from it before dabbing it on her forehead; it didn't even cross Buffy's mind to stop him like she normally would.

A sigh past her lips as the warm water seemed to ease her pain slightly. She stared in the eyes of the elf but neither said anything to the other and Buffy couldn't help but smile at him. He was so beautiful and his presence seemed to sooth her like no one had before. Not even with Angel; then again, with him there was that nightmarish thought of him turning back into Angelus.

Legolas gently wiped the dirt that remained on her face as he stared at her, and as the water wiped the filth away he saw just how beautiful she truly was; causing him to catch his breath at the sight of her. He brushed a few damp strands of hair from her face and smiled.

"How are you feeling?" He broke the silence.

Buffy laughed slightly before grimacing in pain; swallowing a lump in her throat, she answered, "I've been better. But then again, I think I've been worse. No, scratch that. I haven't." Her response brought a slight laugh passed Legolas' lips and Buffy saw his eyes sparkle like the stars in the sky.

"Where am I anyway?" Buffy asked as she looked around the room.

"In one of King Theoden's guest chambers." Legolas answered, not veering his eyes away from her.

Buffy looked back and him and smirked, "Guest _chambers_?" She asked with her eyebrows cocked.

"Yes. Why?" Legolas was confused with her question.

"Why can't things be simple when it comes to speaking? Like slang. Now that's my language." Buffy responded after rolling her eyes.

"S-l-a-n-g?" Legolas dragged the word out as he tested it on his tongue.

"Yeah. You know. Things like: 'What's the sitch?' or 'What's up?'…things like that." She laughed at the look on his face. His eyebrows were raised as high as they would go and his mouth a gap. "Never mind. I shall teach you when you are ready my little grasshopper." Buffy added.

"Wh-" Legolas started but Buffy interrupted him by shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm just being my silly ol' self."

"Will I see this side of you more often?" Legolas asked in a hopeful tone.

One side of Buffy's lips curled at his question, "More than likely. It sort of comes naturally." Buffy answered. He smiled at her answer and she gratefully returned the smile. Legolas opened his mouth to say something, but didn't get the chance before the door to the chamber opened up.

"Legolas. You are being beckoned to a meeting with King Theoden in the Golden Hall." A man ordered. Legolas nodded in understanding to the man, and the door closed; leaving Buffy and Legolas alone once more.

"I have to go. Will you be alright by yourself?" Legolas asked as he held her hand in his.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you." She answered with a slight nod of her head.

"Okay, try to get some rest and I'll be back as soon as I can." Legolas said and then walked out of the chamber; leaving Buffy alone. She relaxed into the bed and closed her eyes; falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Buffy awoke to a soft knock on the door. She blinked a couple times to get rid of the slight haze in her vision. She heard another knock, and being more awake this time, realized what it was.

"Uh…come in." She said groggily.

The door opened and a young maiden walked in with a bundle of clothes in her arms. Buffy gave her the best smile she could at the moment and the lady nodded slightly in her direction.

"The town is evacuating by the King's orders, my lady. I was sent here to assist you." The maiden explained and Buffy looked at her in confusion.

"Assist me?" She finally asked.

"Yes. Do you not have things you need to bring along?" She asked with a slight head tilt to the left. Buffy smiled and shrugged, while lifting her hands slightly in the air.

"All I've got is what's on my back." Buffy answered.

"Oh, well, that would explain why Gandalf gave me these." She handed Buffy the clothes she had been holding and Buffy noticed it was a long, beautiful, blue dress. And a pair of shoes to go with it.

"I…I don't know what to say." Buffy said with a bewildered look on her face.

"No need. He thought you'd feel much better if you got out of those." The lady gestured with her hand to Buffy's dirty and torn white, long sleeved shirt and gray pants. Buffy looked down at her clothes and smiled.

"Actually, I don't think I should wear this." She tried to hand the dress and shoes back to the maiden but she refused.

"No. No. You must take them. They are a gift from the great wizard." She insisted but Buffy again turned down the offer; shoving the dress away from her and into the maidens arms.

"No. You see, I've decided along time ago that it's a bad idea to slay in a dress. It took me forever to figure that out, but I did." Buffy explained and the maiden looked confused.

"Slay? Whatever do you mean? Surely you are not a warrior; they do not allow that."

Oh, boy. Buffy thought as she remembered that no one here knew she was the slayer.

"Well, actually, I am. A warrior, I mean. At least where I come from." Buffy answered and the woman looked down right shocked.

"But it is not custom."

"It is for me. I fight alone. That's what a slayer does. That's all she is… is alone." Buffy explained and then quickly passed by the maiden into the hall before she could be asked anymore questions. That last bit about her being alone wasn't directed to the maiden, she just simply said it out loud. Why? She didn't know.

She turned to walk down the hall and bumped into Aragorn. She had to look up to see in his eyes. He had no expression on his face but she knew he heard the conversation.

"Walk with me." He said and started down the hall; Buffy in tow. They walked in silence for awhile and it was beginning to bother her.

"So…" she started to break it but was interrupted.

"What's a Slayer?" Aragorn asked, staring straight ahead, still no expression on his face.

"Oh, boy. That question." She started as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and stared at her feet as they walked. "Okay, here goes. In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer." She looked back up at Aragorn after she finished and noticed him staring at her. She quickly averted her eyes away from his.

"And… that's me." She sighed as she looked around the hall.

They had somehow wandered out of the building and were walking down to the stables; Buffy had become quiet after explaining to Aragorn about her calling, and Aragorn knew he had hit a nerve, but he somehow knew it crucial to find out about what her being a 'Slayer' meant. He would have to speak to Gandalf about her; maybe he had some answers as to why she was here.

Aragorn pulled open the door and allowed Buffy to enter before him. She nodded her head in thanks and saw Gimli, Gandalf, and Legolas preparing the horses for travel. She walked up to Legolas without looking at him as she watched Aragorn approach Gandalf. She stared in their direction, but wasn't paying attention to what was happening. She was too busy thinking about her conversation with the ranger.

"How are you feeling?" Legolas asked; breaking her out of her trance.

"Huh?" She asked quickly; staring up at the blue eyed elf.

"How are you feeling?" He repeated more slowly and she just shook her head as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Will you be riding with me?" Legolas asked; noticing the distant look in her eyes.

"Yeah. I… I guess so." Buffy mumbled out, not really hearing what he asked.

She was suddenly pulled backwards by Legolas and Buffy looked at him with anger flashing through her eyes until she saw the white streak pass them as Gandalf rode out of the stable with full speed. She looked at Legolas briefly and then looked down; blush running through her cheeks.

"Uh, thanks." She said as she pulled herself out of his grasp as politely as possible.

She looked away from the elf as she heard Aragorn approaching. He stopped in front of her and nodded his head. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she smiled slightly; he seemed to her like a wonderful father figure.

"I have spoken to Gandalf and he is going to try and figure out you're purpose here." Aragorn explained and Buffy's face saddened even more than it was before.

"Purpose. Do I need a purpose? I… I mean I had one in my world, but…but I'm done with that now. Can't I just… I don't know. Be. Have no reason. I did jump through a portal you know. So…" Buffy stammered on.

"There is always a purpose for everyone." Legolas interrupted as he looked down at her worried self.

"But I want to be purpose free. Free of purpose. Purpose is bad. Very bad. It means growing up before you've even come of age. It means being responsible. I just want the chance to be carefree and not have any worries. I can't remember the last time I've had that. Please, while I'm here can't I have that?" Buffy was in tears by the time she reached the end of her rambling.

Without thinking Legolas wrapped her in his arms and stroked her hair in an attempt to sooth and comfort her. After a moment of allowing Buffy's sadness to flow out, Aragorn spoke up.

"Come. We must ride." Buffy turned to face the ranger and attempted a smile; failing miserably. She nodded her head in agreement and followed Legolas to his horse as she fell back into her thoughts. Frightened that maybe, just maybe, there was no way to escape her fate, her calling...... her life.


End file.
